A Love As Fair As Snow

*** Based on Christian Morals--Christian Romance ***

Brie White has seven brothers and works at her dad's cheese shop in Wisconsin. The construction across the street is so loud, she approaches the house to complain to the woman inside. But the door is answered by a handsome man, instead, named Dr. Ryan Prince.

Ryan is carrying out his dead father's wish to have the amphitheater finished for Christian rock bands.

Brie's family isn't happy, trying to keep love from happening between Brie and Ryan. According to her brothers, no man is good enough for Brie.

Can Brie and Ryan overcome their family differences and fall in love?

Excerpt

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The whole cheese shop shook as the noise blasted through the air.

"That's it!" Brie White slammed her hands down on the countertop. "I've had it. Doesn't she realize this is Saturday?" She grabbed her coat and yanked it on in one quick motion. "Watch Tala and the shop," she said to her brother, Roman. "I'll be back."

Roman grabbed her arm. "Don't do anything stupid. Dad has tried and tried to stop that monstrosity across the street and he can't do anything. Just put up with it. It'll be over before long."

"I could be dead from a headache by then."

Tala, Brie's five-year-old adorable niece, grabbed Brie's coat sleeve. "Aunt Brie, take me with you. My head hurts, too. I want to tell her."

Brie had to grin. Tala resembled the rest of the White family with dark hair, blue eyes, and very fair skin.

Brie knelt down in front of the girl. "You stay here and help your dad. He doesn't know how to be nice to the customers so you need to teach him."

Tala laughed, glancing up at her dad. "Be nice, Daddy."

"Sure." Roman was looking out the door. "It's snowing already."

Brie stood up. "Welcome to autumn in Wisconsin. I'll be back." She stormed out the door. The snow was just a flurry, so she wasn't concerned. Northeast Wisconsin didn't usually get a lot of snow before November.

After running through the cheese shop's parking lot, she checked both ways for cars and crossed the empty two-lane country road to the huge home across the street from her family's farmhouse. The beautiful brick home sat back from the road beside a gigantic, enclosed amphitheater being built on hundreds of acres of land. At least that was what the sign said outside the building. It must open up in the summertime, to make it a true amphitheater. The noise was horrible as she approached the home, making her hold her ears. Sounds such as nail guns and saws irritated Brie, so she moved a little faster to get this over with.

Once she reached the front door, she rang the doorbell and knocked, trying to get past the awful noise in the air. Marytown, which was about 35 minutes or so southeast of Green Bay, used to be such a nice small place to live. These days, it seemed to have been sold to the highest, noisiest bidder. Her parents had moved out from Green Bay to escape the noise, before any of her siblings were born. However, Brie's world had now been invaded by city folk and she wasn't going to stand for it.

She kept knocking, wondering if anyone was home or if they could even hear her. The older woman who lived in the home seemed to be able to cope with the sound, according to Brie's dad. It just made Brie angrier, the force coming out in her hand as she knocked. Just when she pounded harder on the door, the lock clicked and the door opened.

But it wasn't the older woman. A man stood inside the outer glass door, more handsome than Brie could imagine. He had brown hair and the bluest eyes, illuminated by an overhead light in the foyer, since the afternoon sky was overcast.

"Yes?" His voice was deep and soft, just as the noise ceased.

"I'm here because…" She swallowed hard, just staring at his face as he moved closer. "Um…" The pounding and noise started up again, even louder than before. She held her ears, and with her headache, she felt the tears filling her eyes. "The noise!"

He opened the door, holding it outward, with his hand on the upper glass. "Come inside, please?"

"Gladly." Brie kept her hands on her ears and walked inside the foyer. He shut the door behind him and all she could hear was silence. It was utterly peaceful, something she'd barely known her whole life, with her seven brothers and parents. She could even lower her hands.

His arms folded across his chest. "What are you trying to sell me?"

"Nothing." She pointed toward the farmhouse. "I live with my family across the street and we usually deal with the owner—an older woman with a big brown bouffant on her head." She lowered her hand. "Do you know where she is?"

A small smile crossed the man's lips. "That's my stepmother, Della. She's not home right now, so this place is up to me. I'm the owner, so it really isn't her place to deal with anyone. She never told me you—or anyone—stopped by."

"Well…" Brie felt the anger building. "You let your own stepmother take the heat and don't handle the problems yourself?"

"What problems? I haven't heard of any problems. The foreman usually lets me know what's going on and I've heard nothing."

"The noise!" She moved closer. "It's horrible. Today's Saturday and I thought I'd be able to have silence over at our cheese shop." She pointed again, so he'd understand. "But no. It's worse than ever. I take it you don't really live here, or you'd notice how your head hurts after a few minutes of the constant noise."

His expression turned confused. "You have a headache?"

She let her arms drop and blew out a breath. "Constantly."

"Have you seen a doctor for your headache? That doesn't sound right."

"My whole family has headaches and my brother, who's a doctor, blames it on the noise. Our house is old, so we don't have good insulation against the noise." A loud noise sounded out on the road and her hands flew to her ears. "I can't deal with it anymore! Do you have to build that monstrosity?"

"Monstrosity? Hardly. It's an indoor amphitheater for Christian rock bands. We call it an amphitheater so more people will be interested than just a plain old 'concert hall.'" He pointed to racks of literature behind him. "I have the gift shop here for now, if you're interested."

She moved her hands away from her ears. "Unbelievable. I'm here to complain and you want to sell me books? I'm not even a Christian anymore and you think I'll bow down to buy your books when I don't even approve of this or the noise? You've ruined the silent country sense in this town and now, we'll have so many tourists that it'll be too much for everyone in this town and for our cheese shop."

"I'd think it'd bring more people to your shop."

"For cheese? Who would go to see a Christian rock concert and say, 'Oh, I think I need some cheese for my concert?' Are you insane?" She inched toward the door. "Good day. I see I have to talk to the town council about the noise issue." She threw open the door and walked out into the snowy air, heading home.

Brie made a plan in her mind to bring this problem to the town council on Monday, two days away. She just needed to figure out how to get in touch with the people in charge of the town.